Under Francis’ spell: “The Joy of the Gospel”

FILE – In this Sept. 18, 2013 file photo, Pope Francis waves to faithful as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican.

My roots began deep in Roman Catholicism. My earliest memory is standing next to my mom on a pew, with three fingers in my mouth, during the candlelit, hushed moments of a novena to Mother Mary.

My mom’s name was Dolores, which I learned is a name for Mary, the Mother of Sorrows. After Catholic grade school, I entered on 13 years of seminary prep to become a priest. After ordination I spent more years studying ministry and became a seminary prof for 17 years, including six in Denver at the late St. Thomas Seminary. After leaving the priesthood (another story, another column), I worked in nonprofits for 20 years, and spiritually I’m now an Irish Catholic Episcopalian, with Jewish and Quaker tendencies. There’s about eight of us.

This history is to say that I have read lots of papal and church documents in my day, but I have never read anything quite like “The Joy of the Gospel” by Pope Francis. None like this.

He calls it an exhortation instead of an encyclical; it’s more personal and pastoral than doctrinal and doctrinaire. The 288 paragraphs still have enough pious gobbledegook to pass muster with the cardinals-in-waiting, but this message is meant to engage new minds and attract new hearts. He often writes in the first person, an inviting “I” instead of the distancing, literal Papal “We.” And what he says is thrilling.

A blunt, refreshing beginning: “The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience.”

Those following Jesus need to evangelize in the face of this with a certain fierce joy: “an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral!”

We are to go into our world not in a great rush, but to slow down and listen to others. This is not a church of my childhood, “An Army of youth ‘neath the standard of Truth, fighting for Christ our Lord” as a popular hymn went. We are more humble, while no less steely.

“I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security. I do not want a Church concerned with being at the center and which then ends being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures.” Notice the “I;” elsewhere he talks about when he was in Argentina, very personally. He remains one of us, while asked to lead.

As he warms to his theme, the first section takes on controversial economic and social topics in a stark “Yes” and “No” format.

“The hearts of many people are gripped by fear and desperation, even in the so-called rich countries. The joy of living frequently fades, lack of respect for others and violence are on the rise, and inequality is increasingly evident. It is a struggle to live and, often, to live with precious little dignity… We are in an age of knowledge and information, which has led to new and often anonymous kinds of power.”

So the litany begins: No to an economy of exclusion. “To sustain a lifestyle which excludes others, or to sustain enthusiasm for that selfish ideal, a globalization of indifference has developed. Almost without being aware of it, we end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own. The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase. In the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.”

No to the new idolatry of money. The man stands at the corner of Wall & Main streets and claims “While the earnings of a minority are growing exponentially, so too is the gap separating the majority from the prosperity enjoyed by those happy few. This imbalance is the result of ideologies which defend the absolute autonomy of the marketplace and financial speculation.”

He presumes to suggest that the hand of God and the invisible hand of the marketplace are not as one.

No to a financial system which rules rather than serves. “Money must serve, not rule”! The Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote the poor. “I exhort you to generous solidarity and to the return of economics and finance to an ethical approach which favors human beings.”

No to the inequality which spawns violence. “Today we hear a call for greater security. But until exclusion and inequality in society and between peoples are reversed, it will be impossible to eliminate violence. The poor and the poorer peoples are accused of violence, yet without equal opportunities the different forms of aggression and conflict will find a fertile terrain for growth and eventually explode. When a society…is willing to leave a part of itself on the fringes, no political programs or resources spent on law enforcement or surveillance systems can indefinitely guarantee tranquility.” This builds on Paul VI’s bumper-sticker words, “If you want Peace, work for Justice.”

No to selfishness and spiritual sloth. Listen to this. “And so the biggest threat of all gradually takes shape: the gray pragmatism of the daily life of the Church, in which all appears to proceed normally, while in reality faith is wearing down and degenerating into small-mindedness. A tomb psychology thus develops and slowly transforms Christians into mummies in a museum.” Francis sounds like he’s previewed “A Night at the Museum 3: Secrets of the Tomb,” and is scared the church is slow-walking into zombiehood!

So what is the antidote to future mummyhood? Yes to the new relationships brought by Christ.

“We sense the challenge of finding and sharing a “mystique” of living together, of mingling and encounter, of embracing and supporting one another, of stepping into this flood tide which, while chaotic, can become a genuine experience of fraternity, a caravan of solidarity, a sacred pilgrimage. Greater possibilities for communication thus turn into greater possibilities for encounter and solidarity for everyone. If we were able to take this route, it would be so good, so soothing, so liberating and hope-filled!”

Francis asks that Catholics, and all believers, keep an ear to the people, expect the inclusion of the poor in society, and that we heed God’s plea on the poor’s behalf. “The old question always returns: ‘How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods, and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses help?’ (1 Jn 3:17). Let us recall also how bluntly the apostle James speaks of the cry of the oppressed: ‘The wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out, and the cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of hosts.’ ”

Maybe that’s enough Gospel at one sitting. I admit, I am close to falling under the spell of the man and his message. He has other sections in the letter about women, about peace, politicians, the common good, human trafficking. I don’t mean to slight any of those persons and topics, but I just wanted to whet your appetite. You can find the whole piece online at the Vatican’s website.

The present Pope near the end wonders if, “Sometimes we are tempted to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people.”

He ends with a traditional prayer to Mary, calling her Mother of the living Gospel, wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones. And he signs his name: Francis.

Where is your moral compass pointing? What are your social values? Hark will explore faith, morals, ethics and character at the intersection of religion ethics, culture, politics, media, science, education, economics and philosophy. At times this blog will alert readers to breaking news and trends. At times it will attempt to look more deeply into intriguing subjects. Hark means to listen attentively, and we will, as readers talk back to the news.